Basic German Grammar
Nouns
German nouns have three genders masculine, feminine and neuter. Nouns start with a capital letter. E.g. die Milch 'the milk'.Genders have to be learnt along with the nouns as there is no way of guessing the gender correctly.
Nouns can be split into :-
| der | masculine |
| die | feminine |
| das | neuter |
Articles
The definite article varies according to the gender and case of the noun, and whether it is in the singular or plural.Pronouns
The appropriate pronoun depends on the gender of the noun. The object or person being referred to in the following examples is either a masculine, feminine or neuter noun or male/female.| Er is dort | It/He is there |
| Sie ist dort | It/She is there |
| Es ist dort | It is there |
So if tea is being disucssed (der Tee masculine), when answering the question
| Wie ist der Tee? | What is the tea like? |
| Er ist gut | It is good |
er would be used for it.
Bank is a feminine word and so the pronoun is sie.
| Wo ist die Bank? | Where is the bank? |
| Sie ist dort links | It is there (on the) left |
Pronouns and cases
| English | Nominative | Accusative | Dative |
| I | ich | mich | mir |
| He | er | ihn | ihm |
| She | sie | sie | ihr |
| It | es | es | ihm |
| We | wir | uns | uns |
| You | Sie | Sie | Ihnen |
| They | sie | sie | ihnen |
Pronouns have different cases and the case used depends on its function or meaning within the sentence.
This (das) and there (da) - when pointing
| Ist das die Milch? | Is that the milk |
| Ja, das ist sie | Yes, that is it |
| Das ist die Milch | That is the milk |
| Da ist der Flughafen | There is the airport |
| Da sint ... | There are ... |
Da and das when (figuratively) used as pointing words, to not change depending on the noun or number of things pointed at.
Verbs (The present tense)
German verbs decline. The majority of regular verbs are declined as follows:-| Verstehen | to understand |
| I understand | ich verstehe |
| He/she/it understands | er, sie, es versteht |
| We understand | wir verstehen |
| You (formal) understand | Sie verstehen |
| They understand | sie verstehen |
| Geben | to give |
| I give | ich gebe |
| He/she/it gives | er, sie, es gibt |
| We give | wir geben |
| You (formal) give | Sie geben |
| They give | sie geben |
Geben 'to give' is the infinitive. Many German verbs are declined (in the present tense) by removing the 'en' and replacing it with either 'e', 't' and 'en'.
Sie geben 'You give' is the formal form of the verb, used in both the singular and plural.
Sie always starts with a capital when it means 'you'. sie can mean 'she' or 'they' depending on the context.
German Phrases
A few first words. 1
A few first words. 2
A few first words. 3
A few first words. Food and drink
At the restaurant. Words and phrases. 1
At the restaurant. Words and phrases. 2
At the restaurant. Words and phrases. 3
At the restaurant. Words and phrases. 4
Food and drink. General phrases
Bathroom. Items found in the bathroom. 1
Bathroom. Items found in the bathroom. 2
Bedroom. Items found in the bedroom
Days. General
Days of the week
Domestic and other animals. 1
Domestic and other animals. 2
Eating. Items
Birds
Some common nouns. 1
Some common nouns. 2
Some common nouns. 3
Compass and planets
Drink. 1
Drink. 2
Drink. 3
Words to do with food. Meat
Words to do with food. Fruit and Vegetables
Words to do with food. General. 1
Words to do with food. General. 2
Directions
Geographical. 1
Geographical. 2
In the city. 1
In the city. 2
Key words and phrases. 1
Key words and phrases. 2
Numbers. 0 to 10
Numbers. 11 to 20
Numbers. 20 and over
Parts of the body
Places and buildings. 1
Places and buildings. 2
Places and buildings. 3
Places and buildings. 3
The hotel. 1
The hotel. 2
The hotel. 3
Months of the year
Telling the time. 1
City and street. 1
City and street. 2
City and street. 3
The house. 1
The house. 2
The childrens room. 1
The childrens room. 2
The dining room. 1
The dining room. 2
The hall
The kitchen. Appliances
The kitchen. 1
The kitchen. 2
The living room. 1
The living room. 2
The living room. 3
Travel. 1
Travel. 2
Travel. 3
Travel. 4
Useful phrases. 1
Useful phrases. 2
Vehicles
Weather and seasons
Weather
Zoo. Animals found in a zoo. 1
Zoo. Animals found in a zoo. 2
Zoo. Animals found in a zoo. 3
Family
Buying things. General phrases
Buying. Things to buy. 1
Buying. Things to buy. 2
Buying. Things to buy. 3
Buying. Things to buy. 4